"Hypocrites have been known to hide under a rock, and that's what's going on right now," Varney said.

He pointed out that these internships can have extensive costs for interns - including food, housing, transportation and clothing - and not offering any payment significantly limits the pool of applicants.

"If you don't pay them anything, then you're simply giving jobs to the sons and daughters of the rich," Varney said. "You're giving opportunity to the rich so that they can get in on the ground floor. So pay them something, and open it up to all kinds of people. But they're not doing it."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California said that "people have suffered enough" because of President Trump and that a real leader would re-open the part of the government that has been shuttered since December.